Amazon.com's Editorial Emelin Michel:
" Here on Rasin Kreyol (which tran… Read Full Bio ↴Amazon.com's Editorial Emelin Michel:
" Here on Rasin Kreyol (which translates as "Creole Roots"), reigning queen of Haitian song Emeline Michel covers a lot of ground, writing songs that draw upon Haitan compas, twoubadou and rara as well as jazz, rock, pop, bossa nova and samba. Whichever direction the singer goes, her voice is clear and forceful as she dramatically imparts her political lyrics in Haitian Creole and French, offering up messages about AIDS, social justice and peace. She does this skill and class: Michel repeats the line "Tell me, where is peace?" to chilling effect on "Mon Rêve," where she's joined by background singers, flute and voodoo hand drums. At the other end of the spectrum, "Ban'm La Jwa" is uplifting with its driving calypso-jazz grooves. While the singer has released a handful of albums as imports over a 15-year career, Rasin Kreyol, her Times Square records debut, is a standout that should help U.S. audiences catch up with the French speaking world that already adores her. "
-- Tad Hendrickson

Ton Yanvalou
Emeline Michel Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

je crois qu'j't'ai vu danser
sur les ailes du soleil
ton yanvalouuuu
entrer dans ta transe
genoux pliés
les yeux fermés
Benji
Tu n'auras jamais su

que le temps s'est brisé
sur ta cadance
en quelques secondes
nous a volé
tous nos reves
Benji
viens danse encore
pieds nus
dans la nuit étoilée
ou les saints
et les anges
ton yanvalou

dis moi que tout est bien
et que la mort n'est rien
quand on s'envole
au coeur d'une pirouette
en dansant ton reve

Benjiii

Je crois qu'j't'ai vu danser

sur les ailes du soleil
ton yanvalou

les anges t'acclament
et Dieu t'ouvre la porte
eske'w wè Ti Roro

Ti Manno
Maurice Sixto
tant de questions

qu'est ce qui nous arrive
une fois sur l'autre rive
dis moi ...
Benjiiii
danse encore
pieds nus dans la nuit étoilée
pour les saints
et les anges
ton Yanvalou
hummm
dis moi que tout est bien
et que la mort n'est rien
quand on s'envole au coeur d'une pirouette
en dansant ton reve
Benjiiiii
Viensss danse encore
pieds nus dans la nuit étoilée
pour les saints
le ciel
ton Yanvalou
Dis moi que tout est bien
et que la mort n'est rien

quand on s'envole au coeur d'une pirouette
en dansant
ton ame et ton reve
Benjiiiiii

hmmm
Danse
tu dois danser
danser
danser
tu dois danser
danser
Benjiiiiiiiii

Overall Meaning

In Emeline Michel's song Ton Yanvalou, the singer describes watching someone named Benji dance the Yanvalou, a traditional Haitian dance. The lyrics suggest that Benji is a skilled dancer, lost in his movement as he enters a trance-like state with bent knees and closed eyes. The song speaks to the power of dance as a transcendent experience, allowing people to escape from the limitations of time, and that the promise of an afterlife in which death is nothing at all. The singer asks Benji to continue dancing, calling him to dance again in the starry night for the saints and angels. She mentioned the names of Ti Roro, Ti Manno, and Maurice Sixto, whose importance is linked to Haitian folklore and culture.

The phrase "Ton Yanvalou" refers to a type of music that is played during Haitian danse Yanvalou. Yanvalou is a Vodou dance in Haiti that came to be called the dance of the snake because it was originally performed with snakes.[2] It is one of the most important and most widely recognized dances in Haiti. The Yanvalou dance evokes and open communication and served as important forms of cultural and artistic expression for Afro-Haitians, especially in times of social, economic, and political crisis.

Line by Line Meaning

je crois qu'j't'ai vu danser
I think I saw you dance

sur les ailes du soleil
On the wings of the sun

ton yanvalou
Your Yanvalou dance

entrer dans ta transe
entering your trance

genoux pliés
knees bent

les yeux fermés
eyes closed

Benji
Benji

Tu n'auras jamais su
You will never know

que le temps s'est brisé
how time shattered

sur ta cadance
on your rhythm

en quelques secondes
in a few seconds